Indians Case

Genocide means the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group. Genocide upon the Indians by Europeans certainly occurred. Indians did not deserve what the Europeans put them through. They were unique people of rich and diverse cultures. Christopher Columbus encountered the first Native American. The Native Americans’ lives would never be the same after that. They would suffer great turmoil. When Europeans began to develop systems of government they would try to use the power of government to pursued Indians to leave their native areas or in some instances the government would forcefully remove the Indians from their land. The government would later pay for the harsh treatment of the previous generations towards the native people.

Native Americans were the ingenious people first known to the free land in the “New World, as Europeans would later name it”. They were people of great depth and efficiency. They survived off the land. There were many different types of Indians before the settlement of Europeans to the land. There were commonly known Cheyenne, Comanche, Navaho, Kiowa, Pawnee, Apache, Sauk, and Sioux. This of course only names a small portion of tribes that existed before the presence of European Settlers. They varied in cultures and rituals within each different tribe. The men were raised as hunters and fishermen. The women cared for children and played an important role in family obligations and religious ceremonies. The women wove beautiful blankets and baskets. They grew and maintained the crops.

Indians of this time were warriors and fought among their different tribes and just as in present day America, they killed one another. The population of Indians before European contact was said to be greater than twelve million. Approximately four centuries later, the estimated number of Indians was reduced by 95% to a mere two hundred and thirty-seven thousand.

In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean and encountered his first “Indian”. This contact marked the beginning of the long road of persecution and genocide of the Indian people. The European people were suffering from harsh rule. They were in search of freedom from the Catholic Church and many other systems. America would turn to be a dream-come true for most European settlers. They would find freedom and wealth. The following year began great misfortunes for these natives and the happiest momentous time for the settlers. The first settlements of Europeans started that year. With the Europeans came new animals, weapons, and disease. For the Indians it would seem to be a prosperous time. They were able to trade items and use items that would change their system of hunting and fishing. The beneficial aspect quickly turned to become the worst relationship with Europeans for the Indians. The new settlers viewed the natives as savage people without regard. This however, was untrue of the Indian race.